How I Built a Collaboration Portal in One Day — And Why You Should Too

It all started with a welcome email…

This morning, I was simply reviewing my welcome email, the one that delivers my free guide “Boost Your Presence: 11 Steps to Increase Your Online Visibility.” I had included in the email a link to a recent blog post titled Online Visibility Through Collaboration and thought: “Perfect, more value, more insights.”

But then… it hit me.

I forgot to tell them what to do next.

I mean, here I was, inviting readers to learn about collaboration, but I didn’t actually give them a clear way to collaborate with me….!

Cue the facepalm moment.

Visibility Tip #1: Always include a call to action

So I asked myself: What if I added a simple CTA? What if I gave a way to connect and co-create?

Not just another “contact me” link buried in the footer, but something more intentional.

A space that says: “Let’s build something together.”

That’s when I decided to create a collaboration portal, and spoiler alert: I did it in a day.

Why Collaboration Is the Secret Sauce

If you’re growing an online brand, collaboration is one of the fastest and most joyful ways to:

• Expand your reach

• Get in front of new audiences

• Share the load (hello, shared energy!)

• And build meaningful relationships in your niche

Whether it’s guest blogging, interview swaps, promo shout-outs, or joint resource creation, partnerships allow us to amplify each other.

That’s why I wrote the blog post in the first place. And now I was finally going to align it with a true action step.

The Step-by-Step: What I Built and How

Here’s exactly what I did, no magic wand required:

1. Noticed the missing CTA in my welcome email (trust your intuition when something feels unfinished)

2. Decided to build a form where people could submit collaboration ideas

3. Chose WPForms (a simple, free plugin with a drag-and-drop form builder)

4. Added clear, friendly fields like:

   • Name

   • Email

   • Website or platform link

   • Type of collaboration (with checkboxes!)

   • Timeline for starting

5. Wrote a warm thank-you message to confirm the submission

6. Published a new page: janicedugas.com/collaborate

7. Linked to it directly from my welcome email + blog post

That’s it.

A visibility system created in a morning, and ready to serve for months (or years) to come.

Visibility Tip #2: Done beats perfect

Let’s be honest, I didn’t plan this. I didn’t have a full funnel mapped out or a 12-step tech strategy.

But I did have momentum. And that’s enough.

When you act in flow and build something simple, you move from “idea” to “impact” faster than you think.

And yes, I did have a good laugh when my AI assistant crowned me:

“Janice Dugas — Collaboration Queen, Visibility Maven, and Connection Catalyst.”

Honestly? I’m keeping it.

Want to Create Your Own Collaboration Portal?

You totally can. Here’s what I recommend:

1. Audit your welcome email or blog CTAs.
   Are you inviting your readers to co-create with you?

2. Decide what kind of collaborations you’re open to.
   Guest posts, interviews, promo swaps, co-creation… make a list.

3. Install a form builder like WPForms or Fluent Forms.
   Both have free versions that are easy to use and secure.

4. Set up a “Let’s Collaborate” page.
   Add a warm intro, the form, and your confirmation message.

5. Link to that page in your emails, social media, and blog posts.

That’s it. You’ve just opened the door to intentional connection.

Want to Collaborate with Me?

If you’ve got a project, idea, or spark of inspiration and think we’d vibe well together, I’d love to hear from you.

👉 Click here to submit your collaboration idea !

Let’s grow. together.

To your empowered success,
Janice 
Collaboration Queen, Visibility Maven, and Connection Catalyst 😄

PS: Stay inspired… I regularly share my favorite tools, tips, and time-saving resources on my X.com page: https://X.com/Janice_Dugas

To make things even easier, I’ve curated a quick-access Highlights Page where you’ll find the latest offers I personally recommend: https://X.com/Janice_Dugas/Highlights

Disclosure: Some of the links I share are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

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